Packing machinery



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVE NTOR Aug. 1, 1933. w. E. MOLINs PACKING MACHINERYFiled June e, 1931 Ang. l, i W E MOLINS A PACKING MACHINERY Filed June6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MVMM 4MM/WFM Patented Aug. ll, 1933UNITED STATES] PACKING, MACHINERY W alter Everett Molins, Deptford,London,v

England Application June. e, 1931, serial No. 542,617, and 7 in GreatBritain June 7, 1930 f This invention relates to cigarette packinginachines, and has for its object to` provide vmeans whereby cigarettesmay be located with their printed matter all facing in one direction andjface upwards so that they may bepacked in this manner, and therebyenhance the appearance of the finished package.

It should be explained that cigarettes always have the printed matterlocated in a denite po- ;sition with respect to the seain and generallythe printing is on the opposite side to the searng 1 The inventioncomprises a cigarette turning device for use on packing machinescomprising means for rotating the cigarettes about their axes',

, and means for arresting the rotation of the cigarettes when the saineare disposed in a predetermined position. l

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:-' Y

Fig. 1 is a section of a portion of a cigarette feeding apparatusWithone forni of the invention applied thereto. J

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3v is a View of the right-hand corner of Fig. 2 showing certaindetails omitted from that figure.

Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 2 on line 4'-,4.

Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 2 on line 5 5;

Fig. 6 is a View of a portion of Fig. 2 taken inv the direction of thearrow 6.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section of a cigarette.

Fig. 8 is a diagram of a device for turning over oval cigarettes. p y

Fig. 9 is a diagram of an alternative device for turning over ovalcigarettes.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a modified form of the invention. i Y

Fig. 11 isan elevation in diagrammatic form of a further modification,and i 12 is a plan of Fig. l1. Referring to Figs/1 to r7, the cigarettesare placed in a hopper (not shown), and fall down v the slots between anumber of vanos 1 on to a plate 2. This plate is furnished with a numberof curved grooves which locate the cigarettes in po siticn. Thecigarettes are fedout in rows from beneath the vanes by pusher pieces 3carried on a chain conveyor 7 and the cigarettes pass beneath a brush22l and a plate 2b` having grooves corresponding to those in the plate 2(see Fig. 5). The cigarettes are delivered on to a series of rollers 8which are preferably knurled. The rollers are mounted in bearings formedin a horizontal frame 9 parallel to one another and separated ving endsof the cigarettes so that they `are Afree to rotate in the samedirection When driven in the manner hereinafter described. y y s Thecigarettes 10 are delivered on to the rollers 8 as shown inFig. 2 sothat the longer axis of each cigarette lies centrally disposed betweenan ad'-` jacent pair of rollers.

The rollers are then rotated for about two revo-` lutions by meansofintermittent gearing. small blade 1l which is preferably a piece of'spring steel provided with a sharp end is ari ranged so'that itV liesapproximately tangent/ital with respect to the periphery of eachcigarette (see Fig. 6),`and as the cigarettes rotate,- the seams, whichVare formed as shown in Fig. 7, eventually come into Contact with theextreme'v points of the blades and each cigarette is instantly arrestedalthough the rollerskmay continue to rotate. U A Y f In order to preventthe cigarettes from comingY into contact with the pointed blades l1before they Vare in the required position on the rollers, Y

a movable guide 12,`suitably grooved to correspond with the groove inplates 2 and 2b, over Which the cigarettes are fedc'is arranged in"front of the entry to the rollers,` and the guide 'is raisedsufficiently to enable the cigarettes to clear the InFig. 1 theV guide12` is carried on an arm pivoted at 13 and operatedby a cam 14. A mov-Vblades as they'passon to the roller.'

able stop 15 is also arranged to receive the lead and'locate them inposition, and in the present case the stop 15 is carried on an extensionof the arm carrying the* I y guide 112.` `As soon as the lcigarettes arein thev required position, the guide 12 drops, and thev cigarettes fallinto contact Vwith the rollers v8,` as previously mentioned; the Weight.of vthe cigarettes depressing 'thespring blades,` 1l to ajvery sligi textent. The rollers have Worm" wheels 16v formed on the Vendsthereofwhich engagewith a worinV 17. The Worm 17 vhas ajsmall gear 18.on the end thereof which' is rotated by a large gear 19. The gear 19 isintegral with a ratchet wheelQO (see Fig. 3), the latter beingintermittently rotated by a pawl 2l 'driven by aV link 22 connected tothe cam disc 14 which is continuously rotated. The disc 14 is fixed to aspindle carried'in a bearing 23 and driven'by a sprocketv Wheel (notshown). yAfter the rollers have rotated twice, all the cigarettes willbe found to lie in the required position, and they are then transferredby the pusher piece 24 of a conveyor 25V i The pusher piece 24 iscontrolled by a fixed trip 24e, Fig. 1, to cause it to rotate clockwiseabout its pivot and avoid the cigarettes deposited on the plate l26. Thecigarettes are removed for insertion into the packets by a conveyor (notshown) During this movement the cigarettes pass beneath the plate 27having guides 28 which prevent the cigarettes from being displaced.

In the case of non-circular cigarettes, for

example, oval cigarettes, the devices shown in Figs.V 8 and 9`1nay beused in orderY that the periphery of the cigarette shall move intocontact with the point of the blade throughout the revolution ofthecigarette, and in order tol effect this, a plate 29 may be Vprovidedas shown in Fig. 8 which forms a at suriace over which the cigarette canride, thus ensuring that the periphery is always definitely in contactwith the blade point in spite of the shape of the cigarette.

In Fig. 9 the rollers are separated somewhat Widely so that they willjust support an oval cigarette when itis lying at and a third roller 30is interposed as shown which supports the oval. cigarette when it isstanding on the 1longer axis of the oval. y l

As an alternative, the blade may be given any required movement in orderto enable it to conform withr therperiphery of a non-'circular cigarettewhen thesame is being caused to rotate by the rollers, but generallyspeaking, the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2will handle all lcommonshapes of. oval cigarettes, and the modifications mentioned above wouldonly be required for abnormal shapes.

kReferring to Fig.` l0, this shows diagrammatically a further method ofcarrying out the invention.

band 31 which, at the moment of delivery, is

stationary. The band is kthen moved a short distancein theV direction ofthe arrowand the friction of the band is suihcient to cause the oig- Larettes to rotate until they are arrested by the blades`32. Guides 33prevent the cigarettes from moving bodily along the band. After theciga- 1 rettes have been rotated to the required position,

the band comes to rest again and the cigarettes are removed to thepacking machine.

Referring` to Figs. 11 and 12 which show diagrammatically a further wayof carrying the inv vention into eiifect, the' cigarettes are deliveredfromthe vanes 34 byA a plunger 35 on to a flat bristle brush 36.The'brush is one of a series carried on a chain conveyor 37intermittently moved in the directionof the arrow. The brush is at` rest'at the moment the cigarettes are delivered on to it and is temporarilyinclined so that the cigarettes .tend to roll towards the needle meansof a rotary striker 41, the plates being of spring steel to permit thebrush to vibrate Without disturbance oi the chain conveyor which y movesin guides 42.` The bristles of the brush are all inclined at the sameangle to thehorizontal Y' and the result or the vibration is to causethe cigarettes to rotate by the frictional ratchetaction The cigarettesare delivered by any.

suitable mechanism to an intermittentlymovedV Lof the inclined bristlesupon the surfaceof the,k

cigarettes.

After a short time, the vibration ceases, the` cigarettes having rotatedto the required position and the conveyor moves on one stage so that thebrush 36 delivers the cigarettes to a grooved plate 43 from whichtheyrnay be taken to the packing machine.

The brush 36 is provided with a pusher 44 Ycarried on springs intocontact withblades or the like, and the plate may be given a vibratorymovement similar to that used on jigger conveyors in order to cause thecigarettes to rotate in the required direction. v

What I as my invention and desire' to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1 Yv Y1. A cigarette turning device for use on packing machines comprisinga series of rotatable parallel rollers operable to move the cigarettesabout their longitudinal axes, and means for engaging the seams of thecigarettes thus moved toarrest the movement, said means being positionedbeneath the upper surface of said rollers.

2. In apparatusfor use with cigarette packing machines, the combinationwith means for feeding cigarettes through a predetermined path in thedirection of the longitudinal axes thereof, oi' means'located adjacentthe path of movement oi the cigarettes and movable transversely thereoffor rotating the cigarettes about their longitudinal axes, and means forarresting rotational movement of the cigarettes when the latter YreachVa predetermined position, said last named means being 'located beneaththe cigarettes.-

3. In apparatus for use with cigarette packing machines, the combinationwith a continuous conveyor for feeding round cigarettes in the dinrection of their longitudinal axes into`1 oredet'er mined positions ofrest, of a continuous conveyor for thereafter removing the cigarettespositions of rest, andmeans for engaging and rotating the cigarettesoccupying such positions of rest through variable angles determined bythe initial rotational positions or the cigarettes.`

4.v A cigarette turning device for oval cigarettes comprising aplurality oiV parallel rollers, means for feeding a cigarette onto andbetween adjacent rollers,means for rotating said .rollers to rotate thecigarette, an abutment beneath the cigarette for engaging the seamthereof to terminate rotation of the cigarette when the latter reaches apredetermined rotational' position, and means occupying a i'ixedposition and engaging the lower surface of the cigarette to support thelatter in cooperative relationship with said abutment regardless of therotational position of the cigare ite.

` 5. A cigarette turning device comprising a plurality or parallelrollers, means for feeding a oigan rette onto and between adjacentrollers, means for rotating said rollers to rotate the cigarette, andmeans for terminating rotation ofthe rette when the'iatter reaches apredetermined ro tational position, said. last named means corrprisingan abutment positioned beneath the cigarette for engagement by thecigarette seam.

WALTER nvnanfrfr Morane. K

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